Aromatherapy and Disease
Anatomy and Physiology
The main senses used in aromatherapy treatment is through the sense of smell. It is an important part of the healing process. As the treatment progresses with the massage, the client is asked to breathe in the vapours of the essential oils blended and this action is transferring the aromas through the olfactory system to the brain.
Olfaction is the process by which an odour or a stimulus gives rise to neural processes and permits communication between the outside world and the brain. Everything we smell activates our olfactory receptors to ferry the olfactory process to the brain.
The receptors distinguish the difference between a good smell or a bad smell and this is often linked to an incident which is held in the memory bank.
A bad smell can be associated with "fear" whilst a good smell can be associated with health. Animals are very instinctive with regards to smell and can distinguish quickly even illnesses.
What happens biochemically when we smell?
As we smell the nerve receptors transport the message to our brain where it is interpreted and then transported into the circulatory system. It could not do this without biochemicals influencing ever step of the way.
There is evidence that glutamate is the olfactory cell tranmitter possibly mediating transmission at the first synapse in the pathway of the olfactory receptor neuron (ORN - mitral cell).
Noradrenalin is also a neurotransmitter that influences the olfactory bulb. Interestingly, zinc enhances the function of these two biochemicals.
Anosmia
This is an inability to detect odours, a loss of the sense of smell. This is linked to fears of accepting external inormation. It is a distrust of a person's ability to judge whether something is good for them or not. Maybe decisions they have made in the past have seemed to them to be wrong.
They fear having to make decisions in case they are not right. This leads to a giving up on certain aspects of life. This is feflected in the fact that if you lose your sense of smell, you lose your sense of taste and everything becomes the same, banal taste with no excitement. This mirrors their fears.
For example a fear of excitement as this means they have to make decisions, be quick thinking and be spontaneous all of which are too hard for them and they retire from life. They let others make the decisions and live in the safety of not having to face doing something wrong because of faulty decisions o thinking. It denotes a lack of self-recognition in the sphere of decision making.
Hyposmia
This is a decreased sensitivity to smells. Smokers fall in this group but if you follow the thinking of the above conditions, it is the same. In the case of smokers, they know that their decision to smoke is wrong but they carry on regardless.The smell of smoking or their breath may tell them that it is bad so they decrease their ability to smell so that they do not have to face the 'wrong' decision that they have made. Then they can carry on smoking without the fear of being reminded that what they are doing may be harming them.
It is basically a fear of owning up to having made 'bad decisions' in life.
These people can sometimes be the ones who are always right and fear having to admit that someone else is right. They rely on the addictive aspect of smoking, saying 'I can't give up because it is addictive'. But we all know that if someone really wants to give up it is in their will. In general a person cannot give up smoking because that would mean they would have to admit they have made a wrong decision and they would rather go on hurting themselves than admit to it.
Hyperosmia
This is increased sensitivity to odours which often occurs during pregnancy. This corresponds to an increase in self-recognition. In pregnancy a woman is much more aware, sometimes for the first time in their life. They also need others to recognise them - " look what I have done" "I am pregnant". Developing a heightened sense of smell is usually to do with facing excitement or a new adventure in life. The need to make the decisions in life has been taken away from them. The decision has been made and now they need to see it through to the end. They try to gather as much information from their surroundings to help them in this new venture. Their sense of taste increases as well and new concotions take a new wonderful experience of taste. They see everything differently and it signifies a fear of the 'new' event that is coming, a fear of what will happen and how it will be. they try to take in as much information as possible to see if it is safe.
Dysosomia
This is a distortion in the perception of a particular smell as in phantom olfactory stimulation. These people have an inability to grasp reality. They believe the smell of a rose to be the smell of a cabbage. They fear reality and their place in it. They distrust reality. They cannot make decisions as the information coming to them is wrong and they cannot trust. People here need to look at their trust issues. When they can learn to trust their own instincts, they will be safe in the world.
